A bald person with an angry expression restrains a frightened‑looking man from behind

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Jan-Christoph Gockel’s spectacular interpretation of Wallenstein takes us directly inside the field kitchen where profiteering, strategically cultivating one’s image, ambition, power and loyalty are served up and tasted in an overwhelming spectrum of spicy theatrical ideas.&nbsp;

Wallenstein

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katharina-bach

Bach, Katharina

andre-benndorff

Benndorff, André

maria-moling

Moling, Maria

sergei-okunev

Okunev, Sergei

pari-garvanos

Garvanos, Pari

daniel-hascher

Hascher, Daniel

johanna-eiworth

Eiworth, Johanna

nadege-meta-kanku

Kanku, Nadège Meta

samuel-koch

Koch, Samuel

annika-neugart

Neugart, Annika

annette-paulmann

Paulmann, Annette

michael-pietsch

Pietsch, Michael

leoni-schulz

Schulz, Leoni

eva-bay

Bay, Eva

friedrich-schiller

Schiller, Friedrich

lion-bischof

Bischof, Lion

janina-brinkmann

Brinkmann, Janina

<a href="${link:{uuid:{8d47935d-0bc3-461a-8c5a-2b7e368997b3},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/G/jan-christoph-gockel}}}">Jan-Christoph Gockel</a> – Direction Julia Kurzweg – Stage Design Janina Brinkmann – Costume Design Maria Moling – Music / Composition (Live-Music) Lion Bischof – Video Design Christian Schweig, Stephan Mariani – Lighting Design Michael Pietsch – Puppetry Annette Paulmann – Piccolomini Menu Viola Hasselberg, Claus Philipp – Dramaturgy Sergei Okunev – Dramaturgical Collaboration and Research&nbsp; Cico Beck – Music Collaboration Yvonne Griesel (SPRACHSPIEL) – Surtitles<h4>Cast</h4>Katharina Bach – Illo André Benndorff – Questenberg Johanna Eiworth – Isolan / Zhenya Nadège Meta Kanku – Thekla, Wallenstein’s daughter Samuel Koch – Wallenstein Annika Neugart – Max Piccolomini, Octavio’s son Annette Paulmann – Octavio Piccolomini&nbsp; Michael Pietsch – Count Terzky Leoni Schulz / Eva Bay – Countess Terzky Maria Moling – Seni and Live Music Sergei Okunev – Serge – a guy from Russia, wearing a cloak and carrying a magic wand Pari Garvanos / Daniel Hascher – Buttler

jan-christoph-gockel

Gockel, Jan-Christoph

viola-hasselberg

Hasselberg, Viola

claus-philipp

Philipp, Claus

christian-schweig

Schweig, Christian

stephan-mariani

Mariani, Stephan

julia-kurzweg

Kurzweg, Julia

In the Thirty Years’ War, Wallenstein is the commander-in-chief leading numerous armies of mercenaries. He pays them by plundering conquered territory while also making a profit himself, in keeping with the motto “war feeds war.” When Wallenstein tries to seize political power, the emperor has him murdered. In 2023 Yevgeny Prigozhin, “Putin’s cook” and the head of the mercenary Wagner Group, sets off with his troops to march on Moscow. Their uprising fails and a plane with Prigozhin on board crashes soon afterwards. Deploying an exuberant wealth of creative ideas, references and styles, Jan-Christoph Gockel combines Friedrich Schiller’s monumental Wallenstein trilogy with the production team’s two-year research project into current ex-mercenaries. At the centre of this imaginative production are the people in Wallenstein’s Camp: soldiers, traders, children and peasants from his retinue – and their contemporary equivalents. How can war be depicted as a way of life? With a celebratory meal on stage, a party, live video, puppets, acting and a lecture performance, Gockel and ensemble devise a spectacle to appeal to all the senses. &nbsp;<h3>Jury Statement</h3>“A dual portrait of the mechanics of war and an exuberant celebration of the theatre: this Wallenstein accomplishes both these and much more. Jan-Christoph Gockel and his team of individualists take seven hours over it. But the fact that these don’t drag is due to the multitude of perspectives presented on the material, which sometimes grate but always argue wonderfully with each other. The piece is about armies of mercenaries past and present, about military puppet masters who are hanging precariously by a thread themselves, about loyalty and the difficulty of ending wars. Central to the visual worlds and humour of the evening are Schiller’s famous line ‘war nourishes war’, the figure of the Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Harry Potter spell ‘riddikulus’, which transforms frightening creatures into something comic and dispels the paralysis of fear. In this immersive masterpiece, however, with elements of investigative and literary theatre, performance, live acting and puppetry, subtle irony, satire and seriousness, everything remains in motion. Even hope for the human being within the soldier.” – Sabine Leucht for the Theatertreffen-jury<a href="https://mediathek.berlinerfestspiele.de/en/theatertreffen/2026/statement-wallenstein">To the video statement (in German)</a><a href="https://www.muenchner-kammerspiele.de/de/programm/stuecke/42815-wallenstein/45657-digitales-programmheft-wallenstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Digital Programme Booklet</a> on the website of Münchner Kammerspiele (in German)<hr><h3>The Menu Sequence</h3>55 minutes – 1st course: Wallensteins Lager25 minutes – Intermission1 hour 40 minutes – 2nd course: Die Piccolomini &amp; 3rd course: Russischer Kitsch25 minutes – Intermission1 hour – 4th course: Wallensteins Traum1 hour – Intermission1 hour 30 minutes – 5th course: Zhenyas Lager &amp; 6th course: Wallensteins Tod &amp; 7th course: Kriegsende<hr>&nbsp;

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Highlights of the 2026 Theatertreffen

Theatertreffen

Theatertreffen 2026

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In the Berliner Festspiele Media Library you will find live streams as well as audio and video recordings and texts relating to the events and themes of the Berliner Festspiele.

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Media Library Berliner Festspiele

10 May 2026

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